Corruption Governance and Political Incumbency Self-preservation in South Africa’s Government of National Unity
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines Nkrumah's consciencism political ideology to develop a model of corruption governance ecosystems, nurtured in lived citizenships amidst the complexities arising from the conflicting dynamics of democratic utopianism, corporate statism, citizen activism, and authoritarian populism. Theoretically, it posits that Afro-oligarch interlocutors of Afromodernisms have solidified elite democracies, oligarchic regimes, and electoral authoritarianism as standard democratic governance due to the corrosive influence of private financial interests on politics. Consequently, electoral democratic procedures foster reckless state administration and the disempowerment of citizens in favour of political self-interest. This article, grounded in a literature analysis and conceptual framework, asserts that South Africa's 2024 Government of National Unity (GNU) represents an imprudent elitist democratic governance characterised by intertwined corruption systems aimed at preserving political incumbency. It concludes that the rapidly formed GNU, only a coalition dominated by the African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance, evaded the ideal of accountable citizenship by fabricating a 71.75% majority in the National Assembly to hinder the establishment of a minority government.
Author: Johannes Tsheola
Institution: University of South Africa
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225272374